Washington State Arts Commission’s Strategic Plan:
A Conversation about the Arts
In
1997, recognizing the value of arts to citizens, tourism, business, education
and communities, Governor Gary Locke launched an initiative to strengthen arts
funding in Washington State. He
appointed a Blue Ribbon Arts Task Force to review State support of the arts and
recommend ways “to ensure that our cultural life remains strong.”
…After
a one-year review Governor Locke’s Arts Task Force called for strengthening
WSAC’s role and developing a “thoughtful plan for increased funding.”
With
strong statewide support for those recommendations, the 1999 Legislature
approved a $750,000 increase to WSAC’s budget – the first budget increase the
agency had received in a decade. The
funding increase came with the requirement that WSAC submit a strategic plan to
Governor Locke and key State leaders by June 30,2000. This plan is the result
of that charge, and the outcome of a planning process that stretched across the
state.
From
the early states of this planning process, WSAC envisioned a statewide
conversation about the arts that would strengthen the State’s arts
resources and expand the impact and effectiveness of the arts for all residents
of the state. Through two statewide
meetings, 18 community meetings, several meetings of the Washington State Arts
Commission, an online forum and a dedicated phone line, WSAC recorded the
views, concerns, ideas and dreams from people across the State. More than 1000 people have been involved
directly in the development of this plan; their testimony, stories,
deliberation and reflection are the foundation for this strategic plan.
In
the statewide and community meetings, the format used was Open Space
Technology, a process to enable large groups of people to explore complex
issues. Participants at each session
recorded the discussion in a summary format that could be understood readily by
someone who wasn’t there. True to the
spirit of Open Space Technology, the discussions were driven by passion for the
arts and responsibility for the issues and opportunities faced individually and
collectively.
Excerpt
from “Planning On The Arts: Washington State Arts Commission’s Strategic Plan”
When
WSAC first contacted me, their biggest concern with an open, “conversational”
meeting format was that community divisions would drown out any possibility of
a cohesive plan. East vs. west, big
organization vs. small organization, rural vs. urban; participants would focus
on their own agenda and fight over a small financial pie. In fact, just the opposite happened. People came together and focused on their
common hopes and aspirations for strengthening the arts throughout the
state. The plan became an occasion for
an unprecedented commitment to inclusion of many perspectives. As a result,
when sent out for comment, the plan was enthusiastically received; everyone
found their voice reflected.
Ironically, the fear of conflict was released so completely, that the
significance of its absence was barely noted.
To
support the 20+ meetings held by WSAC, a call was issued for skilled Open Space
practitioners in Washington State. More
than 20 people agreed to participate.
They were convened for a train-the-trainer session that introduced them
to WSAC, the process, engaged them in finalizing the meeting design, and
provided them the logistical information they needed.
Meetings
ranged in size from 5 to 100. Depending
on the anticipated size, some practitioners worked in pairs, others alone. They took their work seriously – every
commitment to participate was honored by these practitioners. In addition, at
the train-the-trainer, we agreed to share experiences via e-mail as the events
took place. The unanticipated result
was a rich conversation among practitioners that enabled each meeting to build
on the learnings from the ones that came before.
For more
information, contact Peggy Holman